1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a remote management system and a remote management method of an imaging apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral, and more specifically, to a remote managing system and a remote management method that are favorably used for charging each user according to the number of sheets that the user used in the imaging apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional technique for charging a user for the usage of an imaging apparatus, there has been known a technique to sign up for a maintenance service contract of the imaging apparatus, determine a price of one count according to a counter value indicating the number of processed sheets, and determine a maintenance price per month based on the price of one count. Further, there is also known a counter for each user, for managing the number of sheets processed by each user who is registered in the apparatus.
Moreover, for example, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like has been known as another conventional technique. This conventional technique relates to a charging method and a price determining apparatus of an image forming apparatus. The object of this conventional technique is to charge the fee of used toner fairly and easily, by using dot coverage data.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-79484
The above conventional techniques, however, all have a problem in that it is difficult to charge different fees to individual users when plural users use one apparatus in an office and the like.
Further, by the above-described maintenance service contract, when more sheets are printed, the price of one count becomes lower. However, when only one of the users prints many sheets, the users are charged a fee calculated by multiplying the price per count with a counter value of the respective user. Therefore, the charged fee is unfair for some users.
The price per count is determined according to the number of printed sheets of each apparatus. Therefore, in particular, when the same user who uses plural apparatuses prints a few sheets by each apparatus but many sheets in total by the apparatuses, the user is considered to be using each apparatus with a low frequency. Thus, the user is charged a high fee.
Furthermore, when there are plural apparatuses of the same type and one of them is used especially frequently, a price per count is low in that apparatus since the number of printed sheets is large. However, when one apparatus is especially frequently used, its components are more worn and torn.